MOSCOW, May 25. /TASS/. Uzbekistan is developing the project of a railway from Uzbekistan to Pakistan through Afghanistan and invites other countries of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) to join the initiative, the republic’s President Shavkat Mirziyoyev said on Thursday.

"Amid the current environment it is important to strengthen joint efforts on formation of alternative transport corridors and the creation of sustainable supply chains. <…> We also welcome to joint the work of the project office to implement the project on construction of the Uzbekistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan railway," he said at an extended meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council.

In February 2021, Uzbekistan, Pakistan and the previous authorities of Afghanistan signed a roadmap for construction of the trans-Afghan Termez-Mazar-e-Sharif-Kabul-Peshawar rail link around 600 kilometers long. It is planned that the implementation of the project will take five years.

Earlier, Uzbek president said that the World Bank and a number of other financial organizations showed interest in the project. The republic’s authorities hereby plan to gain access to Iranian and Pakistani ports, as well as integrate into other logistic projects in the region. The talks with the participation of Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Russia and Uzbekistan focused on discussion of the line’s construction were held in Tashkent on December 6-7, 2021.

The Eurasian Economic Union is an international organization for economic integration that brings together Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. Uzbekistan, Moldova and Cuba are observer countries. The Supreme Eurasian Economic Council’s meetings involve the leaders of the organization’s member states.